Costa cruise liner adrift in Indian Ocean six weeks after Concordia disaster

A cruise liner from the same fleet as the stricken Costa Concordia was adrift
in the middle of the Indian Ocean after a fire broke out in its engine room.

Taken by the Seychelles coast guard shows the Costa Allegra cruise liner near Desroches Island. The Italian cruise ship from the same fleet as the tragedy-struck Costa Concordia is adrift off the Seychelles with more than 1,000 people on board

More than 1,000 passengers, thought to include Britons, and crew were left stranded on board the Costa Allegra as it drifted, without engine power, 200 miles to the south-west of the main Seychelles archipelago.

Two French fishing trawlers, each 295 ft long, were on their way to the 600ft-long liner last night with the aim of giving the vessel emergency power before tugs reach the ship and tow her to safety.

The general region where the cruise ship was adrift - off the coast of Tanzania - has seen a rash of attacks by Somali pirates, but they have never hijacked a cruise ship.

Claudio Izzi, the Italian consul in the Seychelles, said a security detachment of nine Italian marines were on board and were “well trained and ready to protect civilians”.

Seychelles presidential spokeswoman Srdjana Janosevic added: “If pirates attack, the armed guards on-board will respond. But as far as I am aware, no pirates have been sighted in the area.”

Related Articles

The incident comes just six weeks after the Concordia ran aground and then capsized off the Italian island of Giglio, with the loss of at least 25 lives. Both ships are owned by the Genoa-based company, Costa Cruises.

The smaller, 29,000-tonne Costa Allegra had left the port of Diego Suarez in Madagascar on Saturday and had been due to dock in Victoria, the capital of the Seychelles, on Tuesday.

The Costa Allegra is commanded by Capt Nicolo Alba, 48, from Monopoli, Puglia, in south-eastern Italy.

He has worked for Costa Cruises for 19 years but only became a captain last June.

This was his second cruise as captain of a ship.

Officials said there were no injuries from the fire, which was believed to have been caused by an electrical fault.

But the ship was left without power and adrift about 20 miles off Alphonse Island, a far-flung atoll which is part of the Seychelles, forcing the captain to send out a distress signal.

“The shipboard fire-extinguishing system and procedures were promptly activated and special fire-fighting squads intervened to extinguish the fire,” Costa Cruises said in a statement.

“As a precaution, the general emergency alarm was given and all passengers and crew members not engaged in the management of the emergency were assembled at muster stations with the relevant safety equipment.”

Two French-flagged fishing trawlers were sent to the aid of the ship, with the first expected to arrive around 11pm GMT on Monday night. Two tugboats and a navy vessel from the Seychelles were also on their way.

Joel Morgan, the Seychelles’ home affairs and transport minister, told The Daily Telegraph last night that the ship was not only without propulsion, but light and power.

“What we understand is that there’s been an engine fire and the entire ship is disabled, she’s paralysed and adrift, there’re no lights, no water, no communications,” he said.

“In the meantime, there are other vessels in the area who are expected to rendez-vous with her very soon. They will provide back-up, in terms of helping to provide stand-by power for lights and communications, until our tugs get there.

“The idea then is that she would be towed into Port Victoria [the capital of the Seychelles] by the two tugs, with a military escort. That could take some time, we’re not expecting her to Victoria before Wednesday. We are also making provisions to put up the 1,000 people on board once they get to shore.”

On board the ship were around 630 passengers and 413 crew members of various nationalities.

There were understood to be 122 Italian tourists, about 130 from France, 100 from Austria and 90 from Switzerland.

Costa Cruises said there were 31 Britons on board the ship.

A detachment of Italian marines were on board the ship to provide security because its route would have taken it through areas of the Indian Ocean where pirate attacks have been rife.

The 615ft-long ship was built in Genoa in 1969 and acquired by Costa Cruises in 1992, when it was given a full re-fit.

It has eight passenger decks and 400 cabins and can carry up to 1,400 people.